Christmas 2008
Christmas 2008
Merry Christmas, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
On this great feast of Christmas, together with Fr Sean, Fr Raymond and Fr Jacob, I offer my wholehearted greetings and Christmas best wishes to you .
"In the silence of the night a voice rings out." In the silence of the night a voice echoed across the fields near Bethlehem, linking the glory of God in heaven with the peace of men on earth. Today for you a Savior is Born..”
Tonight we all are overwhelmed and dumbfounded in the face of the divine love which took on human flesh and entered into the human spirit.
A student asked a Christian professor how Confucius and Buddah would differ from Christ. He responded with a parable.
A woman fell into a deep hole. Try as she might, she could not climb out. Confucius looked in. He told her, "Poor woman, if you had paid attention to me, you would not have fallen in there in the first place." Then he went away.
Buddah approached. He too spotted the woman. He said to himself, "If she can just manage to get out of that hole, I can give her genuine aid." He continued his journey.
Along came Jesus. He spotted the woman. He was moved with pity. He jumped into the hole immediately to assist her out. Yes dear brothers and sisters ‘Today for you and me a Savior is Born..”
Today the angels are bringing us the good news of great joy for all the people, for to us is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. This good news of great joy is for all the people of God. However, how do I personally enter into this "great joy" of Christmas? Is it enough that we hang up a banner ‘Joy to the World? Christmas rings out "joy to the world," yes, but how do I make this joy my own? This is an important question.
If you remember what I said earlier using the Word JOY. Look at the word JOY. You see that it is made up of three letters: first J, then O, and lastly Y. J stands for Jesus, O for Others, and Y for You. Joy therefore is: Jesus, Others, before You. To know joy in our lives we need to place Jesus first in everything. Secondly, we need to try to please others before trying to please yourself. That is the recipe for joy. That is how we can convert the Christmas "joy to the world" into a personal "joy in my life”. Yes, today we are all filled with the Christmas joy which comes from the faith that God has been born into the world.
As we look on baby Jesus we think of the mystery of God’s love for us. Why did God who is almighty and all-powerful become small and powerless as a baby? Quite simply, out of love for us. God became human so that we might become more like God.
There is a legend of an African boy called Emmanuel, who was always asking questions. One day he asked the question, “What language does God speak?” No one could answer him. He travelled all over his country to find the answer but did not get a satisfactory answer. Eventually he set out for distant lands to find the answer. For a long time he had no success. At last he came one night to a village called Bethlehem and as there was no room in the local inn, he went outside the village in search of a shelter for the night. He came to a cave and found that too was occupied by a couple and a child. He was about to turn away when the young mother spoke, ‘Welcome Emmanuel, we’ve been waiting for you.” The boy was amazed that the woman knew his name. He was even more amazed when she went on to say, “For a long time you have been searching the world over to find out what language God speaks. Well, now your journey is over. Tonight you can see with your own eyes what language God speaks. He speaks the language of love, that is expressed in sharing, understanding, mercy and total acceptance.” A tiny fish can seek its own food, but a human child depends totally on his mother. God – who created the oceans, the mountains and the night stars - freely chose to become so weak. Today for you a Savior is Born..”
The late Archbishop Fulton J Sheen explained it in terms of the mysterious love of God. We did not deserve a Savior like Christ. There was nothing we could do to compel or merit his intervention. Archbishop Sheen drew a parallel with us and our pets. Is there any one of us who loves his dog enough to be willing to become a dog to save it? God became a man so that by grace we can share in something of his divinity.
Our Lord was placed into a manger, a feedbox for animals. Our altar is also a manger, but it is a place not for the food of animals but for us. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus also wants to make a manger of our hearts. He seeks a home in our souls. He came down from his heaven so that he might abide with us always.
My dear brothers and sisters, Christmas is an invitation for each one of us to be for our world what Jesus was for His world; a beam of light in the midst of darkness, a ray of hope in the midst of despair.
If Jesus is to be born into today’s world, it must be through us. We must be the bean of light in the midst of darkness. We must be the ray of hope in the midst of despair.
May this Christmas that we are celebrating, increase the birth and presence of God in your souls who prays to the infant Jesus: "Raise your little hand, O Holy Child, and bless our beloved homeland."
Merry Christmas.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Merry Christmas, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
On this great feast of Christmas, together with Fr Sean, Fr Raymond and Fr Jacob, I offer my wholehearted greetings and Christmas best wishes to you .
"In the silence of the night a voice rings out." In the silence of the night a voice echoed across the fields near Bethlehem, linking the glory of God in heaven with the peace of men on earth. Today for you a Savior is Born..”
Tonight we all are overwhelmed and dumbfounded in the face of the divine love which took on human flesh and entered into the human spirit.
A student asked a Christian professor how Confucius and Buddah would differ from Christ. He responded with a parable.
A woman fell into a deep hole. Try as she might, she could not climb out. Confucius looked in. He told her, "Poor woman, if you had paid attention to me, you would not have fallen in there in the first place." Then he went away.
Buddah approached. He too spotted the woman. He said to himself, "If she can just manage to get out of that hole, I can give her genuine aid." He continued his journey.
Along came Jesus. He spotted the woman. He was moved with pity. He jumped into the hole immediately to assist her out. Yes dear brothers and sisters ‘Today for you and me a Savior is Born..”
Today the angels are bringing us the good news of great joy for all the people, for to us is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. This good news of great joy is for all the people of God. However, how do I personally enter into this "great joy" of Christmas? Is it enough that we hang up a banner ‘Joy to the World? Christmas rings out "joy to the world," yes, but how do I make this joy my own? This is an important question.
If you remember what I said earlier using the Word JOY. Look at the word JOY. You see that it is made up of three letters: first J, then O, and lastly Y. J stands for Jesus, O for Others, and Y for You. Joy therefore is: Jesus, Others, before You. To know joy in our lives we need to place Jesus first in everything. Secondly, we need to try to please others before trying to please yourself. That is the recipe for joy. That is how we can convert the Christmas "joy to the world" into a personal "joy in my life”. Yes, today we are all filled with the Christmas joy which comes from the faith that God has been born into the world.
As we look on baby Jesus we think of the mystery of God’s love for us. Why did God who is almighty and all-powerful become small and powerless as a baby? Quite simply, out of love for us. God became human so that we might become more like God.
There is a legend of an African boy called Emmanuel, who was always asking questions. One day he asked the question, “What language does God speak?” No one could answer him. He travelled all over his country to find the answer but did not get a satisfactory answer. Eventually he set out for distant lands to find the answer. For a long time he had no success. At last he came one night to a village called Bethlehem and as there was no room in the local inn, he went outside the village in search of a shelter for the night. He came to a cave and found that too was occupied by a couple and a child. He was about to turn away when the young mother spoke, ‘Welcome Emmanuel, we’ve been waiting for you.” The boy was amazed that the woman knew his name. He was even more amazed when she went on to say, “For a long time you have been searching the world over to find out what language God speaks. Well, now your journey is over. Tonight you can see with your own eyes what language God speaks. He speaks the language of love, that is expressed in sharing, understanding, mercy and total acceptance.” A tiny fish can seek its own food, but a human child depends totally on his mother. God – who created the oceans, the mountains and the night stars - freely chose to become so weak. Today for you a Savior is Born..”
The late Archbishop Fulton J Sheen explained it in terms of the mysterious love of God. We did not deserve a Savior like Christ. There was nothing we could do to compel or merit his intervention. Archbishop Sheen drew a parallel with us and our pets. Is there any one of us who loves his dog enough to be willing to become a dog to save it? God became a man so that by grace we can share in something of his divinity.
Our Lord was placed into a manger, a feedbox for animals. Our altar is also a manger, but it is a place not for the food of animals but for us. Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus also wants to make a manger of our hearts. He seeks a home in our souls. He came down from his heaven so that he might abide with us always.
My dear brothers and sisters, Christmas is an invitation for each one of us to be for our world what Jesus was for His world; a beam of light in the midst of darkness, a ray of hope in the midst of despair.
If Jesus is to be born into today’s world, it must be through us. We must be the bean of light in the midst of darkness. We must be the ray of hope in the midst of despair.
May this Christmas that we are celebrating, increase the birth and presence of God in your souls who prays to the infant Jesus: "Raise your little hand, O Holy Child, and bless our beloved homeland."
Merry Christmas.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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